Lucasfilm
) Howard Roffman ( ) Tony To ( ) |num_employees = |parent = Independent (1971–2012) The Walt Disney Company (2012–present) |industry = Film |products = Motion pictures and television |revenue = |operating profit = |homepage = }} Lucasfilm Limited, LLC is an American film and television production company based in the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco, California. The studio is best known for its films, such as the Star Wars and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises, as well as its leadership in developing special effects, sound and computer animation for film. The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 at a valuation of $4.06 billion. Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael, CA. Most of Lucasfilm's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005. History Independent era Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971. On July 8, 2005, Lucasfilm's marketing, online, and licensing units moved into the new Letterman Digital Arts Center located in the Presidio in San Francisco. It shares the complex with Industrial Light & Magic and LucasArts. Lucasfilm had planned an expansion at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California, but shelved the plan due to opposition from neighbors. However, it still plans to expand elsewhere. In January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement from producing large-scale blockbuster films and instead re-focusing his career on smaller, independently budgeted features. In June 2012, it was announced that producer Kathleen Kennedy, a long-term collaborator with Steven Spielberg and a producer of the Indiana Jones films, had been appointed as co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd. It was reported that Kennedy would work alongside Lucas, who would remain chief executive and serve as co-chairman for at least one year, after which she would succeed him as the company's sole leader.Richard Verrier and Ben Fritz, "Kathleen Kennedy to helm Lucasfilm as George Lucas phases out", Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-27. On September 5, 2012, Micheline Chau, who served as president and COO of Lucasfilm for two-decades, announced that she was retiring. With her departure, senior executives for each of the Lucasfilm divisions will report directly to Kathleen Kennedy. Chau was credited with keeping the Lucasfilm and Star Wars brands strong, especially through animation spin-offs and licensing initiatives.Gregg Kilday, "Longtime Lucasfilm President and COO Micheline Chau Retiring", The Hollywood Reporter, September 5, 2012, Retrieved 2012-12-25. Disney subsidiary Discussions relating to the possibility of The Walt Disney Company purchasing Lucasfilm officially began in May 2011, after a meeting that George Lucas had with Disney CEO Bob Iger during the inauguration of the Star Tours: The Adventures Continue attraction. Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, as well as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock. Lucasfilm had previously collaborated with the company's Walt Disney Imagineering division to create theme park attractions centered on Star Wars and Indiana Jones for various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm, became president of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she serves as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney's global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Kennedy serves as producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. The company also announced the future release of new Star Wars films, starting with Episode VII (later titled Star Wars: The Force Awakens) in 2015. Under the deal, Disney acquired ownership of Lucasfilm and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, video games, animation, visual effects, and audio post-production. Disney also acquired Lucasfilm's portfolio of entertainment technologies. The intent was for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations. Star Wars merchandising would begin under Disney in the fiscal year 2014.http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/sites/default/files/reports/10k-wrap-2013.pdf Starting with Star Wars Rebels, future productions will be co-branded by both the Disney and Lucasfilm names, akin to what Disney has done with Pixar. On December 4, 2012, the Disney-Lucasfilm merger was approved by the Federal Trade Commission, allowing the acquisition to be finalized without dealing with antitrust problems. On December 21, 2012, the deal was completed, and Lucasfilm became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney. Disney's CEO Bob Iger confirmed that Lucasfilm had plans to have stand-alone Star Wars movies with Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg lined up to develop the movies that would be released sometime during the six-year period the sequel trilogy will be released. In April 2013, the development arm of the LucasArts division was closed down and most of its staff was laid off. However, LucasArts remained open with a skeleton staff of fewer than ten employees so it could retain its function as a video game licensor. On May 6, 2013, Disney announced an exclusive deal with Electronic Arts to produce Star Wars games for the core gaming market. LucasArts retained the ability to license, and Disney Interactive Studios retained the ability to develop, Star Wars games for the casual gaming market. 20th Century Fox, the original distributors of the first six Star Wars films, still retain the distribution rights to the original two Star Wars trilogies, currently owning permanent distribution rights for the 1977 Star Wars film, while holding the distribution rights to Episodes I-III, V'', and ''VI until May 2020. In December 2013, The Walt Disney Studios purchased the distribution and marketing rights to future Indiana Jones films from Paramount Pictures, although the latter studio will continue to distribute the first four films and will receive "financial participation" from any additional films. On January 3, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that Dark Horse Comics' license for ''Star Wars'' comics would end in 2015, and return to fellow Disney subsidiary Marvel Comics. On April 24, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that the Expanded Universe would not become canon (but may be drawn upon for future works) and that The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series would be considered canon and future Star Wars projects would be overseen by a new story group to keep to that canon. Additionally, the Star Wars Legends banner would be used for those Expanded Universe materials that are in print. Disney Publishing Worldwide also announced that Del Rey would publish a new line of canon Star Wars books under the Lucasfilm Story Group being released starting in September on a bi-monthly schedule. Company structure Divisions * Industrial Light & Magic — visual effects *Skywalker Sound — Post-production sound design *LucasArts — Video games. All internal video game development was halted in April 2013, but it retained its function as a video game publisher and licensor, retaining fewer than 10 employees. *Lucasfilm Animation — animation **Lucasfilm Animation Singapore — animation *Lucas Licensing — Licensing and merchandising **Lucas Books — Book publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, licensed from Lucasfilm. *Lucas Online — Websites Former divisions *Kerner Optical — Practical effects division (model shop) and 3D development team (spun off from ILM in 2006) and went bankrupt In 2011 * Pixar Animation Studios — Computer animation film production company that was sold to Steve Jobs in 1986. It became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, six years prior to the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm. *THX Ltd. — Theater sound system (spun off from Lucasfilm in 2001) Creative Technology now owns 60% of THX. Filmography In development * Untitled Star Wars standalone film directed by Gareth Edwards, written by Gary Whitta (2016) — co-production with Walt Disney Pictures * Untitled Star Wars standalone film directed by Josh Trank (2018) — co-production with Walt Disney Pictures * Star Wars Episode VIII (2017) — co-production with Walt Disney Pictures * Star Wars Episode IX (2019) — co-production with Walt Disney Pictures *Untitled Star Wars spinoff film written by Simon Kinberg (TBA) — co-production with Walt Disney Pictures *Untitled Star Wars spinoff film written by Lawrence Kasdan (TBA) — co-production with Walt Disney Pictures Television series * Star Wars: Droids (1985–1986) * Star Wars: Ewoks (1985–1987) * The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–1996) * Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003–2005) * Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2014) * Star Wars Rebels (2014) * Star Wars Detours (TBA) Television films and specials *''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978) (uncredited) *''Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure'' (1984) *''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' (1985) *''The Great Heep'' (1986) Other productions *''The Making of Star Wars'' (1977) (produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television) *''SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) (produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television) *''Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi'' (1983) (produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television) *''From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga'' (1983) (produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television) *''Return of the Ewok'' (1982) *''Captain EO'' (1986) *''Star Tours'' (1987) *''R2-D2: Beneath the Dome'' (2001) *''Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy'' (2004) (produced by Prometheus Entertainment in association with Fox Television Studios) *''Lego Star Wars'' shorts: **''Lego Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick'' (2005) **''Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2'' (2009) **''Lego Star Wars: Bombad Bounty'' (2010) **''Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace'' (2011) **''Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out'' (2012) *''Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed'' (2007) (produced by Prometheus Entertainment in association with The History Channel) *''Lego Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick'' (2008) *''Star Tours: The Adventures Continue'' (2011) *All 6 episodes of Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles (2013, 2014) See also *EditDroid Footnotes # Despite being produced by American Zoetrope, this is often considered to be a Lucasfilm production. # Distribution rights will be transferred from 20th Century Fox to The Walt Disney Studios in May 2020. References External links * * * *Lucasfilm Wiki }} Category:Lucasfilm Category:1971 establishments in the United States Category:Companies based in San Francisco, California Category:Companies established in 1971 Category:Disney production studios Category:Disney acquisitions Category:Film production companies of the United States Category:Cinema of the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Walt Disney Studios